Hello, Scourge
by EHeroFlareNeos
Summary: I want to play a game.  NOTE: Please don't post your endings in the Reviews, as I believe it's better off in your head. Also, I hope you take this fic seriously, and let the "Jigsaw" remain a mystery.
1. Prelude to Darkness

**Prelude to Darkness**

Inside a room, a light subtly sways back and forth. It is the only thing lighting this room, making things difficult to see. This room had only one way out, through a large metal door on one side. A mysterious figure inhabits this room, slowly coming to. When he wakes, the first reaction he has is to slowly get up, confused by his new surroundings. He looked around and saw that the room was nearly vacant, save for himself, which would explain why he woke up with his back against the wall. His first observation was that the walls were very dirty and had lots of writing and markings, probably left by vandals who had access to it. He couldn't fathom why he would be in a place like this, but he decided to fully get up and walk around a little bit.

As he saw, the room was relatively small, which would likely explain why there were no other objects in the room. As he slowly tried to walk around, he felt his foot hit a small object. He stopped and looked down to find that what he kicked. He couldn't quite figure out what it was, so he slowly bent over to pick it up. Upon further observation in the dim light, he sees that it is in fact a microcassette player. He opened it and saw that nothing was in it, adding to his confusion. Instead of following his first instinct and throwing the player to the ground, he searched his pockets and noticed something that wasn't there before. He removed the item from his pocket and saw that it was a microcassette. On this microcassette, he found that a small piece of paper that said "PLAY ME" was taped to the cassette.

Putting two and two together, he knew instantly that he was meant to place the cassette in the player and hit the Play Button. He did these said actions, but hesitated. He wasn't quite sure what would be on the tape, as he had just woken up in a room for no reason. Letting this pass, he decided to press Play. After a couple seconds of silence, he heard a low and slightly garbled voice speak. He listened as it said _"Hello, Scourge. You don't know me, but I know you. Throughout your life, you have done nothing but ravage and destroy, seeking more power, all the while feeling no remorse for your actions. In the next series of tests, I will attempt to completely reverse this line of thought. When this tape ends, you will have 60 seconds to decide whether or not you will cooperate with me. But be warned: if you do not, you shall never be heard from again. Live or die, Scourge. Make your choice."_

As soon as the tape ended, Scourge noticed a digital timer light up above the lone door in the room. This began to make him feel uneasy, but he tried to keep a strong look and stay determined. He looked around to see if there were other exits, but none could be found. Instead, he noticed that the markings on the wall weren't random, but rather markings that made a series of very subtle arrows pointing to the door. While there were hardly any arrows made by these marks, he knew exactly what he had to do. As the timer wound down faster and faster, he ran towards the door, which swung open with ease, while still holding the microcassette player.

Once he was on the other side of the door, he noticed he was in a large hallway. After a few seconds, he heard a loud "click." He turned to the source of it, which was the door behind him. This made him realize that if he chose not to comply, then the room could have become his tomb. After staring at the door for a couple seconds, he turned around and walked down the hallway, as if walking into a lion's den.


	2. Man or Machine

**Man or Machine**

Inside another dark room, there is absolutely no light whatsoever. Another mysterious figure awakes, and experiences fear for the first time. When he came to, the only trace of light he found was static from a small TV screen in the distance. Curious, he slowly crawled towards the set, hoping to find an answer to his current predicament. He got closer and the static became louder, indicating that he may soon find out why he is there in the first place. When his face was close as necessary to the screen, it slowly transitioned to reveal the white face of a ventriloquist puppet. After a small pause, the puppet turned to the screen and began to speak. "_Hello, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, or as they call you, Eggman. I want to play a game._"

* * *

Scourge continued to slowly walk down the hallway. When he reached a certain point, he stopped and turned back around to face the doorway he had come from. He slowly looked around the hall and raised his head up so he could see how high the ceiling went. After this observation, he came to the conclusion that he must have come from some abandoned interrogation room. One clue for him was that the hallway was wide enough for 3 people and was no higher than an adult human being. He wanted to try and figure out where he was, but for now, he wanted to keep going in order to find more evidence on that subject. He then continued to walk in the same direction he was originally headed in, picking up the pace.

* * *

In the darkened room, Eggman watched as the puppet continued to speak. "_Every time you try to catch that which pains you the most, you have always relied on machines to help you, and never living people. Once the door across from you opens, my first victim will walk in and see you. At that very instant, a special nerve gas will fill the room you stand in right now."_ Right then, the room flooded with light from the ceiling fixtures, temporarily blinding the mad doctor. He looked around and saw that the room itself was filled to the brim with the corpses of his own robotic creations. He noticed one in particular, got up on his feet, and began slowly walking towards it.

"_This gas has a very interesting effect on the human body. You know what I also find interesting, doctor?"_ Eggman stopped in front of a rusted out corpse of a Metal Sonic and touched it. As soon as his glove made contact, the robot crumbled to a rusted dust.

"_I'm intrigued by the fact that the human body will accept Titanium as a substitute for bone."_ Eggman turned toward the TV with fear in his eyes. _"Fortunately for you, there is an antidote to counteract the poison. But the only way to get it is to trust my victim enough that they will give you the antidote. Remember, your life is in their hands."_ The screen slowly faded to static.

Eggman ran towards the screen and got on his knees. He started banging the sides of the screen, yelling in agony. "No, No, No, No, No!" He couldn't keep it up for long, though. He stopped and began to break down. He slumped onto the top of the TV so that his face was in his arm. Then, he began to cry with the belief that he was going to die.

* * *

In the hallway, Scourge kept walking towards the next test for him. He began to remember the last thing he had done before he woke up in that dump of a room. The look he had seen on the last face he laid his eyes on.

He soon came to a door and saw a microcassette attached to it along with a white piece of paper. He took the cassette off the door and removed the tape holding it in place. He felt fortunate he had kept the player for it in his jacket when he left the first room. This time, he pressed the Play button without any hesitation. The tape began to speak with that same garbled voice. _"Yes, I see you have made the right choice in coming here. The door in front of you will lead you to your first test. I call it: Trust. In the next room is another captive of mine. You know who he is, and I know how you feel about him, but he now requires your assistance. You will be given a powerful choice, one that puts his very life on the line. I'll just say this now: You'll know when you see it."_ There was a moment of silence, and then the tape stopped with a click.

Scourge was now curious as to what his test was. On the door, he finally saw the thin pencil marks on the paper taped to the door. He had to look really close, but they seemed to form the words "fox = LIFE." He dismissed the message as gibberish and slowly opened the gray door in front of him.

* * *

As soon as he heard the door open, Eggman looked up to see who came in. He was just as shocked as the person who looked down at him from the angled wall to wall window up above. "You?" was the reaction they both had simultaneously. The split second they yelled this, they both heard a loud whoosh, followed by a monotonous hum. Eggman knew what was coming next. He suddenly began to see a light brown smoke slowly pour into the room. It took a couple of seconds, but he soon began to inhale it. He coughed heavily.

* * *

Scourge looked on at the doctor as a digital timer quickly flashed into being at the back of the room. It started at 60 seconds and began to quickly run down, counting every millisecond of hesitation.

* * *

Eggman turned around and saw the timer. 5 seconds had already passed. He turned again to face the hedgehog and began to plead. "Please, Scourge, help me!" He found himself beginning to take in less oxygen.

Scourge took this plea and started to question it. "Why should I help you?"

"I…" Already, 20 seconds had been shaved off the clock.

"You what?"

"I…don't want to die, Scourge." His cries for help were clearly filled with the fear that came over him.

Scourge suddenly noticed a panel in front of the glass that couldn't be seen from Eggman's angle. It was small and had a small red button on it. He sensed that this was the choice he had to make: Whether he should press that button or leave Eggman to die. "Why can't you get one of your robots to help?"

"I can't. They are all rusted out corpses, and I have no way of communicating with the outside." 35 seconds down. "Please, you have to help me."

Scourge contemplated whether he should press the button in front of him. He noticed others on the same panel, but the red one was the only one that was lit.

"I won't save you unless you give me one good reason."

Eggman soon had difficulty breathing, as he could feel his insides becoming constricted. "You don't want more innocent blood on your hands, do you?"

Memories of what he had done began to come back to Scourge. He had remembered the face of that child on the night before he woke up in his isolated room. He could not bear to relive it any longer.

* * *

Just as the timer wound down to less than 10 seconds, he hit the red button on the panel. On Eggman's level, this opened up a grey door in the front of the room and a large air vent in the back. The room flooded with a thick gray smoke in order to push out the brown gas. He became worried over the safety of the doctor.

Fortunately, the smoke cleared in front of Eggman. Just as it disappeared, he saw a swaying vial filled with a sort of red liquid hanging by a chain. Eggman slowly walked over to the chain and grabbed the vial. He yanked it off the chain, which caused the top of it to break off and a little bit of the liquid to spill out. Despite this, he downed the contents in the blink of an eye, and began to feel immediate results. His feeling of constriction was soon followed by quick relief.

As quickly as they could, both of them ran to the exit of the rooms they were in, and instantly met once more, face to face.


	3. Alone and Scarred

**Alone and Scarred**

Outside, the moon is full, giving off a moderately bright light. The light travels to a very small window, making it the only available light source to a dark chamber. Slowly, a figure inhabiting the chamber wakes up, blinded by the light of the moon. As he slowly regains his consciousness, he begins to realize his surroundings are hard, yet somewhat soft. As he tries to figure it out, his hand stumbles across something odd. Curiously, the figure turns to see the other inhabitant of his chamber: A skeleton. After a small yelp, he notices that, despite the moon giving him a very small range of light, he can clearly see the skeleton. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees static from a TV screen in an upper corner of the area. He realizes the area he is in, and then stares at the screen some more. Suddenly, the screen transitions to reveal a white-faced ventriloquist puppet. The puppet turns to the screen, as if about to speak.

"_Hello, Shadow. I can see you have finally woken up. I want to play a game."_

* * *

Scourge and Eggman continued to walk down the halls leading away from the abandoned surgery wing Eggman was in no more than five minutes ago. They hadn't really spoken to each other in that time, as they didn't have anything to say. Finally, Eggman broke the silence. "So, Scourge, what sort of divine force led you to my location? Surely you didn't go out of your own free will?"

"Actually, I was forced to find you."

"You? Someone forced _you_ of all people?"

"I had no choice. If I hadn't left the room I woke up in, it would have forever been my tomb." Scourge wasn't excited to have to talk to the mad doctor, but at least he didn't feel alone anymore.

"I see." The earlier silence returned briefly.

"So…why are you in here?"

"You want to know?"

"Yes. Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked." This statement made Eggman feel a little uneasy.

"Well, according to my captor, I haven't really depended on living beings enough. He blamed that for my failure."

"But I had to be able to trust you enough in order to let you out. A least, that's what _my_ captor said."

"But why on earth would he have wanted you? What did you do so wrong that he got you in this hell?"

Suddenly, the memories returned to the hedgehog again. He once again saw the face of the deceased child in his arms. That alone was too much to bear.

Scourge was frozen in place while he relived his most painful memory. Hesitation washed over him before he was able to give a response. "I...don't want to talk about it."

"Oh. Okay then." They continued to walk down the path they were led.

* * *

Shadow was startled by the puppet speaking to him through the TV. _"I know everything about your life, especially that girl Maria."_ Shadow was angered by this statement. _"When she died, you had made a promise to her. You promised to bring peace to this world. But instead, you began to hate everything around you. You couldn't learn to trust anyone."_

Shadow clenched his fist. _"Look all around you. This cell is a perfect representation of your mind. There is no way in or out of here, except for one. In order to learn how to leave, you will need to trust whoever finds your location."_ The hedgehog went towards the skeleton in the room and bent over to pick up one of the bones. _"If you can't learn to trust anyone by the time this is over, I can guarantee that you, like her, will become no more than a memory."_

Shadow picked up the skull on the floor and threw it at the screen, which caused the glass to shatter into several pieces, some of which stuck into the padded floor. He was still angry, so he yelled at the TV. "I will never allow you to use her name in vain! Do you understand me? I will find a way out of here and kill you!"

* * *

Scourge and Eggman had finally reached the door at the end of the hallway. Like with the previous door, Scourge noticed a microcassette taped to it. He pointed it out to the doctor, who peeled off the tape and handed the recording to Scourge. The hedgehog inserted the recording into the player and pressed the Play button. The garbled voice returned. _"Hello again, Scourge. I'm glad you made it this far. It's time for your next test. I call it: Sympathy. Beyond this door is a wealth of cells used to house victims of madness. The next victim is in the one that is different from the others. You will find another panel similar to the one you saw last. In order to save him, you must give him some sympathy. He's having a hard time right now."_ There was a momentary pause._ "Oh, before you go, let me give you a piece of advice: In the depths of madness, it is always a good idea to watch your step."_ There was a click, then silence.

Before opening the door, Eggman noticed there was an orange piece of paper taped to the door. This was pointed out to Scourge, who noticed that the words were written in pen. They spelled out "Can you see it?" This was dismissed, and they headed through the monochromatic door.

Once through, they noticed that the room was full of prison cells. There were two levels of them, and they all looked very unsanitary, as if it hadn't been used for decades. They weren't sure what to do, but they knew their search could take a while.

* * *

Shadow had come to terms with his padded cell and began to break down. He just sat there with his head in his legs. Streams of tears ran down his face. He soon realized that his skeleton roommate was probably the only friend he had in the world.

* * *

Scourge and Eggman began to search for the cell that was different from the rest. They searched a few of the cells already and found nothing different. Eggman then came to a realization. "Hey Scourge."

"What?"

"I don't think this room will cut it."

"What makes you say that?" Scourge had looked up to the second layer of cells to hear what the doctor had to say.

"I think we would have heard or seen a living person by now."

"You make a good point." He had an idea. "Is there a door down here?"

"Well…" Eggman ran to the edge of the row and looked at the ground floor. He scanned the walls for any entrances, making sure to double check. "I think I see one."

"Where?" Eggman decided that rather than try and point it out, he would run down and show Scourge himself. He ran past and touched the hedgehog's shoulder as a signal to follow him.

"It's right here." They saw a door with a key in the lock.

"That looks about right. Open it." Eggman turned the key and the door swung open. Behind it was another room just like the one they were in, but this time, the cells were built into one wall and there was a row of odd-looking cells above. The other side sported a giant glass window where the moon shone through. "I see it now."

"What?"

"When he said that he was in the one that was different, he must have meant those ones up there."

"Hmm. That's an interesting observation."

'Well, let's find out if it's right."

* * *

Just as Shadow felt like no one was coming to help him, he heard footsteps ascending a metal staircase. He got up and peeked out of the small bars of his cell. He couldn't see much, as the small hole he had gave him a limited view of the world. He began to yell to see if anyone could hear him. "Hey, can anyone hear me? I'm over here!"

* * *

The two ex-rivals had just walked up the steps by the moonlit window when they heard a voice. They ran towards the sound of the voice and stopped in front of the cell where it was the loudest. There was a thin metal walkway with enough room for two people here. They stopped right where they were and managed to make out the person calling for them.

Shadow finally knew who was there and was just as surprised as they were. At this point though, he could have cared less about who was there. His mind was ripped apart enough that he could have trusted anyone with help. "Hey guys! Get me out of here!"

* * *

Scourge heard the black hedgehog and began to walk towards him, as that was his next test. Eggman stopped Scourge temporarily by grabbing his shoulder. "Wait."

"Why, Eggman?"

"Don't you remember what that tape said? 'In the depths of madness, it's always a good idea to watch your step'? What if there is floor-based mechanism here?"

"I don't care. I just want to get out of here, no matter what happens to me." Eggman understood and let go of his partner's shoulder, allowing him to continue walking.

Scourge continued to walk forward, but hit a thin red beam with his foot on the way over to the panel. An alarm sounded and a clock above the cell that was once dormant sprung to life. It began to slowly move a red dial around the face in a clockwise motion. He knew this meant he had tripped a timer. He ran to the panel so that he could do what he needed to.

When he got there, he spotted the red button after 15 seconds had passed. He knew what to do and motioned to press it.

Eggman grabbed his arm midway. "What if this is a trap?"

"What do you mean?" the green hedgehog asked.

"I mean, would it really be that simple? I know you would think before you would do something so irrational."

Shadow was more worried about his life than he was before. "Guys, stop fighting! My time is running out!" There were 25 seconds left on the clock.

Eggman looked at the clock and realized he might have made a mistake by trying to stop Scourge. He let go of his arm. "Ok, Scourge. You can go ahead and press it." He was depressed.

Scourge, without hesitation, pressed the red button. The door in front of him opened and Shadow ran out as fast as he could, holding the skull, which had fallen from the broken TV screen, from his cell in one hand. They heard an explosion as soon as the door closed behind him.

* * *

When Shadow joined the ex-rivals, they were all happy that they were able to save another person's life. Scourge almost managed to crack a smile of joy, but at the moment he would have, a shot rang out in the enormous room. Shadow and Eggman looked around to see if anyone was there. They couldn't see anyone and looked to see a shocked look on Scourge's face.

They finally noticed what was wrong. There was now a mysterious bullet hole in his right shoulder. It appeared that somehow, he was shot through the front of the shoulder and it had come back out on the opposite side, leaving a hole in his leather jacket. A stream of blood now ran down his light green fur.

Scourge collapsed onto his knees and then went down on all fours. Almost immediately, he coughed up blood. For the first time in his life, he felt like he was actually going to die.


	4. Heat of Rage

**Heat of Rage**

Inside a room, there is a row of so-so bright lights on the ceiling. One of them is blinking, signifying it is close to burning out, but still has a little energy left. A mysterious figure inhabits this room, being the only inhabitant. He slowly wakes up, almost instantly feeling somewhat warm. The first thing he sees is a small table covered in medical tools, among which rest 4 glass jars. He also notices a small TV behind them, its screen covered in static. He approaches the screen curiously, stopping a couple feet away from it. The static then transitions slowly, to reveal the white face of a ventriloquist puppet. After a few seconds, the puppet turns to face the mysterious inhabitant, about to speak. _"Hello, Knuckles. I want to play a game."_

* * *

Scourge was still collapsed on the floor, as he relived the one memory he did not wish to go back to.

The day before he ended up in his room, he was casually keeping the people of Moebius in fear. His method for doing so was destroying random buildings, fueling his bloodlust and calming him down for a brief moment. He kept an evil grin on his face the entire time. This practice made him happy.

However, he did not foresee the actual damage this would cause on that day. One of his attacks caused an explosion inside a building. Once it had collapsed, he went up to it to see the damage. In the smoke, he felt someone cling onto his jacket. He looked down and saw an innocent kid asking if he could help him. Before Scourge could answer, the kid stood up and slumped dead in his arms. He took note of the innocent face on that kid, as it was forever carved into his memory.

He picked up the child and carried him to a neighboring house. He then placed the body by the wall and ran away from the scene. That night, he realized the full extent of what his normal practice had caused and cried for the first time.

And now, he lay there with blood streaming from his shoulder. He wanted to believe that he was finally getting what he deserved for his careless action. At the same time, he wanted to believe that his new partners would save him from his fate.

* * *

Knuckles watched the screen with awe. _"Since birth, it has been your duty to guard the Master Emerald. While you succeed at this, it hasn't come without a few drawbacks. You have rejected any form of friendship to isolate yourself, while using excessive force."_ The echidna knew what he was talking about.

"_In front of you right now are the keys to your salvation. These keys are fragile, so I would suggest being careful with them, or you could become truly isolated by the fires of your own rage. In this hell, there is a single tool that can help grant you safe passage."_ Knuckles eyed the jars. _"Oh, and keep this in mind: Three wrongs definitely won't make a right."_ The screen faded to static and silence.

Knuckles stood up and went over to the jars. He figured out from the message that he wasn't going to be able to smash the jars by force. He tried to twist the lid off of one of the jars, but found it to be sealed shut beyond his ability to open. He knew now that he needed to devise an alternate way of retrieving the keys.

* * *

Shadow and Eggman started to worry for Scourge's well-being. They saw a small lit room and decided to carry him down there. When they got there, they began to try and treat Scourge's wound on his shoulder. They applied pressure on it to stop the bleeding, but that was about as much as they could do.

Scourge woke up, surprised he wasn't dead. But he was even more surprised by the fact that the two he had saved were willing to help him. He found a comfort in this, and they all decided to move on.

* * *

Knuckles looked around for an alternate way to get the keys out of the jars. During his frantic search, he knocked over a lot of medical tools, which made a collective crashing sound on the floor. He looked down and noticed that maybe he was supposed to use the right tool to open the jars up. Willing to go with this new theory, he picked up a scalpel and turned one of the jars upside down.

His arm started to thrust with all his might, but he stopped and realized that might damage the key. Instead, he put the tool against the glass and started to try and make an incision. He went in a circular motion, applying more pressure as he went. After almost a minute had passed, he was starting to make a deep cut.

* * *

Scourge and his two companions had gone through a winding hallway after leaving the room where he rescued Shadow. They stopped after an encounter with a large steel door. Scourge noticed yet another microcassette taped to the wall, but this time, the words "PLAY ME" were carved into the door with a painted arrow pointing to the cassette.

He took the cassette off the wall and removed the tape. Since he had come this far already, he wasn't afraid of the contents of this tape, placing it into the player he had and pressed PLAY. The familiar voice of the previous tapes returned, much to Scourge's chagrin. _"Excellent work, Scourge, I'm surprised you made it this far. I was worried that you would have died from the blood you had to shed earlier."_ Scourge glanced at the small hole in his shoulder.

"_I believe you are ready to accept your next test. I would like to call it: Patience. The next subject is a rather unique specimen indeed. He has endured much over his life, but this may be the last time he ever sees the world again."_ Shadow was curious who he might be talking about. _"I should tell you now that this is different from the other tests you have come across thus far. It should now be second nature to you to intervene and either increase his suffering or rescue him. I urge you instead to back away and leave."_ All three of them were now confused.

"_If you let him know he is being watched, his hand could slip, and I'm sure that's the last thing anyone wants right now."_ There was a click, and then silence.

* * *

Knuckles had managed to open 3 of the jars with the scalpel. He reached for the fourth jar, but the scalpel slipped out of his hand. It was then that he started to notice beads of sweat running down his forehead. _"Did it just get hot all of a sudden?"_ He picked up the scalpel, then looked at the door and noticed a small bar he hadn't seen before. The bar appeared to have a digital readout on it.

Upon closer inspection, he realized that the bar next to the door was actually a thermostat, currently reading 80 ⁰F. He further inspected his surroundings and noticed that there were several tiny holes in the floor placed next to each other in a sort of pattern. This went unnoticed until now, but he now knew why he felt warm when he got up.

He glanced back at the thermostat, which now read 82 ⁰F, and figured out that the temperature was slowly rising on its own. After also figuring that his test was timed based on temperature, he picked the scalpel up off the floor and proceeded to cut into the final jar.

* * *

Scourge, Shadow, and Eggman opened the door in front of them to see what looked like a panel of glass on the left side, as if for a surgery wing. They looked down through the glass and saw a red echidna struggling to get a key out of a glass jar with the bottom cut open. They instantly recognized who it was, but wondered what he was trying to do with the key in the jar.

* * *

Knuckles has finally obtained the last key, but had cut himself on the glass in the process. Blood now stained his gloves, but he didn't care at this point. His life was in jeopardy.

He picked up all 4 keys and carefully took them to the door. He set them down on a small table nearby and picked up the first key, which was colored green on the grip. With the key inserted in the lock, he gave it a small twist. The lock didn't budge one bit.

At this point, Knuckles would now know the penalty for being wrong with his choice of key. He suddenly got hit with a large blast of hot air to the back. On top of feeling hotter than he did already, the temperature quickly rose from the then 85 ⁰F to 95 ⁰F. He started to feel more sweat come off his body.

* * *

The three ex-victims looked on as this happened to the echidna. Shadow asked "Shouldn't we do something about this?"

"Didn't you hear? We can't interfere with his test." said Eggman "If we did, he could fail." Scourge wasn't happy about it, but he accepted that fact. He started to get a look of worry.

* * *

Knuckles recovered from the blast of heat and picked up a second key, this time colored yellow on the grip. He inserted this key and gave it a small twist. It went a little further than the green key, but still didn't twist the necessary distance. He knew what was coming next and felt another large blast of hot air from the sides, which made him realize what the vents in the room were for. The temperature sharply rose again from 96 ⁰F to 116 ⁰F.

At this point, he managed to recover, but could no longer feel any saliva in his throat. He looked at the thermostat and realized just how quickly the temperature rose. He knew that this last guess could end him and picked up the two remaining keys, colored red and blue respectively on the grips.

Upon closer inspection of the door handle, he saw a very thin red line right above the keyhole. It was wearing away from the heat, but he could still see it. He stared at the keys in his hands and pondered which key to use.

It came to him that maybe the colors of the keys had a purpose. He wondered if maybe he was really supposed to use the red key the whole time, which would explain the red line. He inserted the key and thought _"This had better work."_

* * *

Scourge almost panicked and began to do what he wasn't supposed to do. He looked through the glass and yelled "Be careful Knuckles!" This was met with a slap on the back of the head from Shadow.

* * *

Knuckles heard the sudden call of his name. This really startled him mid-twist. While the key had moved all the way with the lock, he had broken it at the very end, which caused the door to remain locked. He felt a final blast of hot air, which caught him off guard, from the top. The temperature was now 130 ⁰F after recovering from the blast, but he refused to give up and stayed focused on the task at hand.

He went back over to the table from before and saw an odd instrument among the medical tools, which turned out to be a screwdriver. He took it back to the keyhole and placed the end of it next to the remains of the key in the lock. With careful precision, he managed to twist the door open, just as the thermostat read 140 ⁰F.

The door closed quickly behind him just after he managed to get out. Sweat was now dripping heavily down his dreadlocks. He began breathing heavily on his knees, embracing the cold air of the hallway. After a few minutes passed, the sweating echidna got back on his feet, ran to the other side of the hallway in front of him, and went through the door.


	5. Death by Chair

**Death by Chair**

Within a dark, mysterious room, another figure wakes up from a deep slumber. While he opens his eyes, everything starts coming into focus. The first thing he sees is a dim light from the overhead fixtures, just bright enough for him to see his surroundings. As he tries to figure out where he is and why, he starts to feel a strong pressure around his mouth, finding himself somehow unable to move. When his senses finally come back to him, he finds his arms and legs have actually been bound to a chair.

On top of this, his adrenaline begins to rush, feeling fear when he sees the type of chair he is in: An electric chair, which is normally used in executions. He tries screaming for help, but his voice comes out muffled, finding himself to have been gagged. As the figure sheds a tear, he sees he overlooked a small table in front of him, on top of which rests a small TV, the screen showing nothing but static. As he stares at it further, the screen slowly changes, now showing the white face of a ventriloquist puppet. At the sight of the face, the figure shakes in his place, afraid of what is going to come next. The puppet begins to speak. _"Hello, Miles Prower, or should I say, Tails. I hope you are…comfortable. I would like to play a game."_

* * *

Scourge was rubbing his head from where Shadow had slapped him. "What did you do that for?" They were currently walking down the hall after Knuckles had left his room.

"You weren't supposed to yell his name!" Shadow yelled. "He could have died and it would have been your fault!"

Scourge was silent. He knew what he had done wrong, but did not wish to address it. He decided to keep going. "Come on, we should keep moving if we want to get out of here alive."

On the inside, Scourge felt like he was slowly being tortured psychologically. He did not wish to think of the result of this.

* * *

Tails was shocked at the fact that the puppet on the screen in front of him knew exactly who he was. He could only tremble from the sound of the voice while it continued to speak.

"_I'm sure this whole situation comes as a shock to you. However, there is absolutely nothing to worry about. Your only purpose is to serve as a piece in a larger puzzle. Whether you live or die is simply dependant on how those pieces are put together."_ This was followed by a fade to a soft static.

Tails heard everything that was said in the video. He now feared for his life and started to cry.

* * *

After a minute of walking, the three former enemies came across the gasping Knuckles. He continued to gasp for any sort of moisture he could get, and was very surprised to see who he had come across on his journey. Shadow propped him up on his shoulder, noticing how close to death he had really come.

When Knuckles regained the ability to form saliva, he began to speak to the ebony hedgehog holding him up. "Thank you…Shadow. I…am grateful for your help."

Shadow thanked him in his mind, since he wasn't used to getting compliments like that.

* * *

After another couple minutes of walking through the labyrinthine halls of the building, they came across yet another large metal door. This time, there was no tape attached to it, but instead a small piece of notebook paper with the words "FOX = life" written on it in marker.

Eggman spoke up. "What do you think this could mean, Scourge?"

"I'm not too sure. Maybe those messages I saw on the doors are connected."

"Really, how?"

Scourge flashed back and remembered all of the paper messages taped to the doors before this. He remembered two in particular that said "fox = LIFE" and "Can you see it?" respectively. Once he put two and two together, he came to a grim conclusion.

Shadow and Knuckles weren't sure why Scourge was suddenly zoned out, but Knuckles felt he needed to speak, albeit a little weakly. "Well?"

Scourge finally came back to reality. "Oh no. We have to go in now!"

"Huh?"

"There's no time! We have to go."

* * *

Scourge busted through the door with his three comrades behind him. He took a quick scan of the environment and saw a trembling fox, gagged and bound to an electric chair with a small TV in front of him on a table. At the sight of this, Knuckles suddenly regained the will to move and rushed to the chair along with Eggman.

Scourge was about to do the same, but then noticed a second screen come to life in front of him, a green light turning on above it. All he could see was snow on the TV, but then it faded into a video. On the screen now was a ventriloquist puppet with a white face. The puppet turned its face toward the screen and began to speak in a familiar voice. _"Welcome Scourge, to your next test. I'm actually surprised you made it this far. Then again, I knew you would be able to make it."_

Everyone was currently watching it on both screens, the second of which was muted so the audio wouldn't echo. _"Now, I call this test: Morality. By now, you should have been able to guess what you must do in this test from the clues I had left you."_ At that moment, Scourge was able to begin to fully decipher the messages he saw earlier. As the puppet proclaimed, they were not messages about the victim of this test, but rather the decision he would eventually have to make.

"_I trust you have realized this truth by now, but I suppose you would like to know the mechanics of this test. In that case, here's how it works."_ Everyone kept staring at the screen while Tails trembled even harder in his seat, crying harder. _"As soon as you walked in through that door, an electronic signal was triggered in order to begin playing this tape. If you would turn your attention to the wall behind that chair for a moment…"_ Everyone who was able turned to eye the large lever-style switch on the rear wall. _"You will see a large switch."_ Everyone who looked turned back to the screen.

"_As soon as this tape ends, you will have only 60 seconds to make a decision. During this time, power will begin flowing to the chair and switch. If you can't do this, a signal will be sent to pull the switch automatically, and I don't think you want to see the end result."_ Tails stopped trembling as much as he was, but he could not cease crying. In fact, his crying became increasingly audible.

"_Just remember, either way, you cannot advance unless that switch is pulled. Pulling this switch before the timer runs out still has a large chance of killing him, at least 80%. If you try to destroy any timer that will light up in mere seconds, a signal will be sent to pull the switch anyway will full power."_ Scourge was starting to noticeably tense up. _"Now Scourge, I ask you this: Are you willing to see another innocent soul die from your bloodlust?"_

At this, the screen faded to a soft static, which triggered a bright LED timer to spring to life above on every wall of the room. The seconds ticked by, counting each and every millisecond wasted. Scourge quickly went over to the switch, but soon began to break down before he could actually pull it.

* * *

As the seconds ticked by faster, Scourge kept flashing back to the moment he had actually killed an innocent child. He replayed that moment over and over in his mind. Soon, that became the only thing he could see in front of him. The pain and emotional trauma rose to levels that he would never even believe himself to be capable of.

* * *

Shadow rushed over at the first sign of this and attempted to grab Scourge's attention. "Hey, Scourge. You'd better pull the switch." There was no response from his audience, just heavy breathing while facing the floor.

Shadow tried speaking louder. "Hey, Scourge. Get up." Same response. "Hey! Scourge! Get up!" He tried kicking Scourge's side this time. "Get up, Scourge!" No reaction. He tried kicking harder. "Get up, Scourge!" This time, he turned Scourge around and lifted him up by his jacket. Scourge was clearly staring off into space, drool starting to form at his mouth.

Shadow slapped him once. "Snap out of it!" He slapped him again "Come on, wake up!" He slapped him repeatedly. "This is no time to be spacing out, Scourge! You've got a kid to save!"

30 seconds remain on the clock.

* * *

For Scourge, his feelings almost prevented him from functioning. Suddenly, while he was reliving his memory repeatedly, he started to hear a voice calling for him. He soon recognized this voice as belonging to Shadow. Slowly, he began to see the blurry air in front of him, the dream separating from the reality. When the clock reached 15 seconds left, he began to see a face come into focus. He heard the same voice yell "Snap out of it!"

At last, he could see Shadow's face. The seconds ticked by and he could hear his environment. He noticed that Shadow stopped yelling and started looking at the timer nearest him. Emotion returned to Scourge, forming a worried look on his face. He had no idea how much time was left, but he knew what to do. He quickly released himself from Shadow's grip and grabbed the switch in front of him.

Before he went any further, he checked one of the timers and saw that only 2 seconds were left. In panic, he closed his eyes and pulled the switch, crying as a white flash filled the room.


	6. Offering of Substance

**Offering of Substance**

The white slowly faded away and Scourge began to open his eyes. As soon as he could see, he ran over to the electric chair where Tails was bound. While he was facing the back of the gag, he quickly undid it and ran over to the front to see if Tails was still alive. When he got there, he saw Tails break down on the floor and cry. At this sight, Scourge slowly drew Tails into a hug and cried as hard as he could. Neither of them minded this, as they were both happy that Tails was alive. Everyone else just watched and let them pour their feelings out.

* * *

A few minutes had passed and Scourge and Tails had stopped crying. After calming Tails down, they all began to move onward to what they hoped was their final test.

* * *

After walking down a long hallway, everyone stopped at a large door. This door, however, was not designed like the others. This door was made of metal, but it was painted with multiple colors, specifically those of the men before it. There was a single piece of paper taped to it with a typed font which said "The End." There were also several arrows painted in what looked like blood pointing to the handle.

At this sight, Scourge hesitantly twisted the knob and opened the door.

* * *

Once inside, everyone immediately noticed a peculiar table in the center of the room. "What is that thing?" asked Eggman.

"I guess we'll have to find out." Knuckles replied.

* * *

Above this table was a microcassette hanging from a steel wire, a paper labeled "PLAY ME" taped to it. Scourge did not hesitate in snagging the tape from the wire. To his surprise, nothing happened. "Huh, I thought the wire was going to trip something."

"So did I." Tails finally spoke. "What is that tape for anyway?"

Scourge paused for a moment to collect his thoughts. "It tells us what to do if we want to live."

"Oh."

Shadow asked "Shouldn't you just play it already?" He tightened his grip on the jaw of the skull he kept from his test.

"I was just about to do that." Scourge replied. Slowly, he inserted the tape into the player he still had with him and pushed the Play Button. A garbled voice slowly began to speak amidst the small amount of audible static.

"_Congratulations, Scourge. You have succeeded in all of your tests. I hope you have saved everyone you could, for this test would be unwinnable without their help. This is the test I call: Sacrifice."_ Tails was startled at that word. _"The path to freedom lies just ahead of you, but I'm afraid I can't let you go that easily. In order to go free, you must first learn to sacrifice a part of yourself for the benefit of others."_ Scourge was surprised, but he knew it was necessary in order to leave.

"_What you see here is a table of interesting design. You might notice there is a hole. This hole detects weight, size, and amount. To get the sensor inside to go off, you, and whoever is with you, will need to fill it with your blood. How much you will need to sacrifice is for you to find out."_ Everyone felt depressed by this statement. _"There are tools in this room to help you perform this task. It is up to you to find them."_ Scourge looked around the room and then back at the player. _"Now, how much blood are you willing to shed for the sake of others?"_ There was static and then a click, stopping the tape.

After the tape stopped, Shadow looked at the table and began to see the tools mentioned in the tape. On the same table the mysterious hole inhabited, there was a small assortment of bladed tools, including a scalpel and a box cutter knife. He decided to point this out to the others, but did so in a low voice. "Hey, guys, I think these are the tools that voice was referring to."

Upon sight of the various blades, everyone fell silent. They knew what they were and how to use them, but no one could take the first step.

After a couple minutes of pondering, Scourge spoke up. "I'm going to donate first."

Eggman heard this and replied first. "Why Scourge?"

"Well, since I'm pretty much the one who got everyone in this mess, I should start to help get you out." He waited for a reply, but didn't get one. This was interpreted as silent acceptance.

Scourge went up to the array of bladed tools and decided to pick up the scalpel among them. Slowly, he held his arm over the hole and raised the blade in his right hand. He decided to go for his left hand and moved his other hand to it. He made a small incision on the outside of his thumb and watched as the blood within quickly dripped into the hole.

This blood was enough to cover the plate at the bottom, but Scourge did not think he was making enough progress. On the same finger, he made another cut perpendicular to the one he had already made, forming a "+". Blood flowed out faster from his thumb, filling up the hole further. The plate on the bottom began to sink, as it was very sensitive to weight.

* * *

Eggman looked on, taking note of how to actually complete the test. He watched blood continuously flow out of Scourge's thumb, and how Scourge cut himself once more when he realized there wasn't enough blood coming out. When he felt that Scourge was really trying to help them, he stepped forward and grabbed Scourge's shoulder. "I think it's my turn to help out."

Scourge stopped and heard what was said to him. "Really?"

"Yeah." Eggman grabbed a small kitchen knife and held it over his left arm. He slowly pierced the skin of his left forearm. Once he felt the sharp blade in his body, he quickly cut toward his hand until he spotted an artery, which he promptly stopped at to avoid the risk of certain death. Once the deed was finished, he let out a moan of pain.

The crimson liquid flowed out of his arm and into the hole, adding to the weight that Scourge's blood had already contributed. The plate shifted downward at a snail's pace, yet no one could tell, as the blood had made it invisible to the naked eye.

* * *

Shadow noticed Eggman's pain when he cut himself and asked "Hey, are you really sure you want to keep going with this?"

Eggman set the knife down, held his arm over the hole, and replied. "I'm not sure."

"Then why did you cut yourself?"

"It may seem strange, but if it weren't for Scourge, we wouldn't be discussing this right now."

Shadow knew what he meant by those words. "In that case, since you saved my life, I guess I should contribute too. After all, we need to work together in order to get out of here."

Shadow went over to the blades and selected what looked like a steak knife. He took the knife in his hand and hesitantly moved the blade towards the palm of his left hand. Once the blade was next to the center, he quickly made a cut from one side to the other across the palm.

His blood flowed into the hole, while Eggman's arm almost stopped giving blood. The plate continued to descend inside the hole, giving the impression that there was no change in the level of blood inside.

* * *

A minute had passed and it was clear to everyone present that no real progress had been made. Shadow stepped back from the hole, as he did not wish to inflict any more pain. Eggman saw this and walked away as well.

Scourge turned over to Knuckles, who was a couple feet away from the table, since he hadn't made a donation yet. "Hey, Knuckles, I think you should contribute."

Knuckles heard what Scourge had said, but then made a connection. He remembered hearing a voice from above while in his test, which caused him to break his key. This made him realize that it was Scourge who had yelled his name and almost indirectly killed him.

Knuckles turned to face Scourge. "You."

"What?"

"It was you who called for me earlier."

"Yes, because I was worried."

Knuckles walked over to Scourge and punched the side of his face. Everyone turned to watch the struggle, while Knuckles held Scourge by his jacket. "You could have killed me, you know that!"

"It's not like I was trying to."

"I don't care! Why should I help you then, huh? Should I help you get out because you saved everyone else? Is that it?"

"Well…"

"I had to fend for myself! You almost killed me!"

* * *

Tails didn't enjoy this argument one bit. He wanted everyone to work together, as he was grateful that he was rescued from the brink of death. As a way of trying to get their attention back to the test at hand, he went over to the table and grabbed the box cutter knife. He held it up and moved it toward his left arm. Once there, he quickly made 3 cuts, each in a different spot on his arm while trying to avoid any important arteries. Since he had a low threshold of pain, he let out a scream of agony.

Knuckles heard this and looked in Tails' direction. At the sight of his blood, he dropped Scourge and quickly went over to Tails. "What are you doing, Tails? Why are you cutting yourself?" He grabbed the knife in Tails' hand.

"You needed to stop fighting. If that had kept going, we might not have been able to work together to get out alive."

Knuckles slowly let go of the knife, having understood what he heard. He glanced at the blades and selected the one he would use. He picked up a small dagger. With careful precision, he pierced the side of his forearm and made a continuous cut until he got to an artery. He removed the knife from his arm and watched his blood flow lightly into the hole on the table.

* * *

At least 5 minutes had passed and they figured that they had filled the space maybe over halfway. At this point, no one could stand the thought of cutting themselves again.

But the inspiration struck the mind of Shadow. He remembered that he still had the skull from his test in his hand and formed an idea. "Hey guys, I think we can use this."

Everyone turned to look at the skull in Shadow's hand. Knuckles was the first to respond. "How is that going to help us?"

"Don't you know?"

"Know what?"

* * *

At this point, Eggman realized what Shadow as talking about. "I get it. The size of the skull will displace the liquid inside the hole, thus increasing the amount inside while also lowering the amount of blood we have to give up."

"Precisely."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Use it already!"

As soon as he heard those words, he went over to the hole and slowly inserted the skull perfectly inside. Once he let go, the plate audibly went lower and the blood level silently rose. Everyone watched in amazement as their test was getting closer to completion. Once they could still see the very top portion of the skull, the plate had stopped moving, indicating that they didn't have much more to do.

* * *

After everything stopped moving, Knuckles looked to Shadow. "Why did you have that skull with you anyway?"

Shadow pondered the answer for a second. "Well, whoever that person was, was in the same situation as me. I didn't want to leave without letting him see the light of day again. I just couldn't stand letting him die completely."

Knuckles didn't quite understand these words at first, but realized their meaning to Shadow. He knew that, in a way, Shadow had saved a life from total imprisonment and death. In this way, he understood what Shadow said.


	7. Test of Faith

**Test of Faith**

As the minutes went by, everyone became increasingly unwilling to donate any more blood. In fact, no one had donated any since the skull was inserted.

Scourge was thinking about what was at stake. He knew that one of them had to help them out. In the continuing silence, he made a bold decision. "I'm going to end this."

No one knew what Scourge meant by these words, but they didn't try to stop him. Scourge went to the table and picked up the bloody dagger. Once it was in his hand, he quickly stabbed himself in his right shoulder in an attempt to re-open his bullet wound from earlier in his ordeal. As the crimson fluid flowed down his arm, he made a small opening on his right arm in order to increase the amount of blood that left his body.

As Scourge held his arm out over the hole, Shadow and Eggman rushed to his side. Eggman was especially surprised. "I can't believe you would do this to save us."

"I'm not saving you. I'm getting you out faster."

Eggman accepted the response, as it was something Scourge would likely have said anyway.

* * *

Scourge's sacrifice had triggered the sensor inside the table's hole, which caused the locked door to click. Once this sound was heard, everyone rushed towards it. Knuckles quickly rammed into the door to open it.

Their first sight was an open area of concrete and rubble against a rising sun. They had no idea where they were, but felt a sense of joy from the fact that they had made it out. However, due to their injuries, they didn't have the strength to openly acknowledge this. Rather, it was a solemn acceptance.

* * *

Despite this, Scourge had seen something that he had hoped he would forget. He spotted a photo on the ground and slowly walked toward it. He bent over and picked it up with his left hand. After a single moment, he recognized the person in the picture as the young child he had killed the night before his arrival in the place he had just escaped from.

Tears began to form in his eyes, as he silently apologized to the child for accidentally killing him that night.

As if to throw salt into the wound, he felt that the picture was a little bit heavy in the center. He flipped it around and spotted a final microcassette with "PLAY ME" taped onto it. Quickly, he opened the player he still had on him, inserted the tape, and pressed Play. A familiar voice returned to haunt him as the player was slowly covered with blood from his right arm.

"_Congratulations Scourge. You have managed to succeed in every test I have given you. You have done well to come this far."_ Scourge glanced at the picture in his other hand. _"However, I'm afraid there is but one more test for you. This test is called: Forgiveness."_ Scourge went cold.

"_If you have learned anything, I will leave you with only this: Can you forgive yourself for what you have done? Or will you choose to live with them forever? I hope you make the right decision."_ The tape clicked, with only silence left afterwards.

As soon as the tape ended, Scourge could no longer hide the weight of his emotions. He slowly dropped the blood-covered microcassette player at his side and broke down. He went onto his knees, facing the ground while remaining somewhat upright. The blood from his right arm flowed onto the ground, forming a small pool. He gripped the picture in the other hand.

The only thing left for him to do was cry, tears flowing down his face onto the hard ground beneath him.

* * *

**I credit EHeroDarkNeos for his assistance on this fic.**

**Also, for the sake of clarification, Scourge's fate after the last sentence is now left up to the reader's imagination.**


End file.
